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A North East tech firm has been praised for bringing a businessman "back from rock bottom" after salvaging an app he'd raided his savings to develop.
Mi-Box Live creator Christopher Withers invested thousands on a new app for his award-winning interactive maths game.
However, after being "let down" by the initial developer, the app was deemed so poor that the IoS store wouldn't even list it, jeopardising both the project - and Christopher's wellbeing.
"I was absolutely crushed. To sink so much of yourself and your savings into something, only to be told it wasn't up to scratch, was nothing short of devastating," said Christopher, 43.
"The amount of money I'd invested in the app had left me in an unbelievably precarious position. I'd been let down really badly, and I didn't know how it could be saved."
However, in stepped The Resolved Group, a Hartlepool-based company specialising in repairing existing digital platforms - be it an app, website, CRM or an e-commerce site - even if they haven’t carried out the build themselves.
"So many times businesses are told if there's a problem, you'll need a rebuild. However, rebuilds cost a small fortune and as we've demonstrated time after time - they usually aren't needed," said Chris Carroll, founder of The Resolved Group.
Having only launched last year, that approach has fuelled dramatic growth for a company that hasn’t yet turned one.
Turnover is set to soar by 500 per cent this year, while the business - which was initially forecast to be valued at £5m by the end of the decade - is now on course to be worth £10m.
Additionally, it has already expanded internationally with an office in India that has allowed the company to move towards a 24/7 model in part to keep up with an increasingly global client base.
"I think a big part of our rapid growth has been because of the trust we've earned. We are not about forcing clients to needlessly spend more money than they have to - if there's a way we can fix what you have, we will, and that has saved businesses millions already,” added Chris.
"But I've done this for 25 years, and I know that behind every app or website, there are people like Christopher who have invested their money, time and dreams into building something to make the world better - and that makes us work even harder to deliver that for them."
In Christopher's case, his dream for Mi-Box Live has been well over a decade in the making.
Combining numeracy and sports, the EdTech product has been a smash with schools and has been rolled out to dozens across the North East.
Middlesbrough-based Christopher, from Acklam, secured a £50,000 Innovate UK grant to develop the app, which thanks to The Resolved Group, has now launched having been "completely renovated" - and made fully compatible with all platforms.
"In a short period of time, Chris and his team took an app that wasn't engaging anyone and was below-average to say the least, to something we are all proud of," said Christopher.
"The state the app was in really impacted me. I was at rock bottom with my mental health, but what they've done with the app has changed that. The work they do truly is transformational both for a business and for the people behind it.
"They are real people, who you meet and who work with you to ensure you get what you need. Unlike many companies, they are not bots - they give you time and they give you their full attention, and for me, they went above and beyond."
